The OER Knowledge Cloud makes use of cookies. By continuing, you consent to this use. More information.
Deconstructing disengagement: analyzing learner subpopulations in massive open online courses
Kizilcec, René F. · Piech, Chris · Schneider, Emily

PublishedApril 2013
ConferenceLAK '13: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge
Pages 170-179
CountryUnited States, North America

ABSTRACT
As MOOCs grow in popularity, the relatively low completion rates of learners has been a central criticism. This focus on completion rates, however, reflects a monolithic view of disengagement that does not allow MOOC designers to target interventions or develop adaptive course features for particular subpopulations of learners. To address this, we present a simple, scalable, and informative classification method that identifies a small number of longitudinal engagement trajectories in MOOCs. Learners are classified based on their patterns of interaction with video lectures and assessments, the primary features of most MOOCs to date.

In an analysis of three computer science MOOCs, the classifier consistently identifies four prototypical trajectories of engagement. The most notable of these is the learners who stay engaged through the course without taking assessments. These trajectories are also a useful framework for the comparison of learner engagement between different course structures or instructional approaches. We compare learners in each trajectory and course across demographics, forum participation, video access, and reports of overall experience. These results inform a discussion of future interventions, research, and design directions for MOOCs. Potential improvements to the classification mechanism are also discussed, including the introduction of more fine-grained analytics.

Keywords MOOC · learner engagement · trajectories of engagement

Published atCalifornia
LanguageEnglish
RefereedYes
DOI10.1145/2460296.2460330
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar


Viewed by 549 distinct readers




CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS

The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.

Click a star to be the first to rate this document


POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS

Digging deeper into learners' experiences in MOOCs: Participation in social networks outside of MOOCs, notetaking and contexts surrounding content consumption
Veletsianos, George; Collier, Amy; Schneider, Emily
Researchers describe with increasing confidence what they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' ...
Match: Schneider, Emily

MOOCs for professional teacher development
Jobe, William; Östlund, Christian; Svensson, Lars
A MOOC is a trending concept in education that is disrupting traditional methods of learning consumption. The emergence and use of MOOCs for professional teacher development is still uncommon, but on the verge of ...
Match: MOOC; United States

Assessment in Massive Open Online Courses
Admiraal, Wilfried; Pilli, Olga; Huisman, Bart
Open online distance learning in higher education has quickly gained popularity, expanded, and evolved, with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as the most recent development. New web technologies allow for scalable ...
Match: MOOC

Making ‘MOOCs’: The construction of a new digital higher education within news media discourse
Bulfin, Scott; Pangrazio, Luciana; Selwyn, Neil; McGreal, Rory; Conrad, Dianne
One notable ‘disruptive’ impact of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has been an increased public discussion of online education. While much debate over the potential and challenges of MOOCs has taken place online ...
Match: MOOC

MOOCs as disruptive technologies: Strategies for enhancing the learner experience and quality of MOOCs
This chapter considers the pedagogies associated with different types of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It argues that the current discourse around the concept of xMOOCs (primarily based around interaction with ...
Match: MOOC

MOOCS Massive Open Online Courses
Gaebel, Michael
Match: MOOC

The world is not flat
Rivard, Ry
Online higher education is increasingly hailed as a chance for educators in the developed world to expand access and quality across the globe. Yet it may not be quite so easy. Not only does much of the world not have ...
Match: MOOC

An avalanche is coming: Higher education and the revolution ahead
Barber, Michael; Donnelly, Katelyn; Rizvi, Saad
This publication argues that the next 50 years could see a golden age for higher education, but only if all players seize the initiative and act ambitiously. If not, an avalanche of change will sweep the system ...
Match: MOOC

Open, online, and blended: Transactional interactions with MOOC content by learners in three different course formats
Emanuel, Jeffrey; Lamb, Anne
During the 2013-14 academic year, Harvard University piloted the use of MOOCs as tools for blended learning in select undergraduate and graduate residential and online courses. One of these courses, The Ancient Greek ...
Match: MOOC

Cloud learning activities orchestration for MOOC environments
Hernández, Rocael; Gütl, Christian; Amado-Salvatierra, Hector R.; Uden, Lorna; et al.
In this paper we focus on an approach to using cloud-based (Web 2.0) tools for MOOCs applying a new version of an innovative architecture for `cloud learning activities orchestration' (CLAO). This works presents the ...
Match: MOOC